A MAN on trial for the murder of a 16-year-old boy stabbed him to death in front of two teenage girls in a bedroom of a house, a jury was told yesterday.
The evidence was heard at the trial of two men charged with the murder of a Ukranian teenager in a housing estate on the outskirts of Limerick two years ago.
John O’Loughlin (21), of Cecil Street, Limerick, and Anthony Mason (18), of Bishop Street, Limerick, both deny the murder of Roman Vysochan at Carrig Midhe, Westbury, Co Clare, on May 10th, 2008.
Mr O’Loughlin has pleaded guilty to assaulting another teenage boy, who was aged 15 at the time on the same date, but Mr Mason has denied this charge.
In her outline of the case at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Limerick yesterday, Mary Rose Gearty SC told the jury that Roman Vysochan died from one of two stab wounds.
She said Mr Vysochan and his friend were in a bedroom of the house with two teenage girls, aged 15 and 17, whom they were dating at the time.
Mr O’Loughlin and Mr Mason, who were in town with friends, became aware of the boys at the house and went there.
The jury was told that both of the accused men went into the bedroom of the house with knives and that Mr O’Loughlin stabbed Mr Vysochan twice and also stabbed the 15-year-old boy in the leg.
The court heard that Mr Mason had thrown the knives away afterwards and that they were later recovered by gardaí. Ms Gearty said it was the prosecution’s case that the 18-year-old acted as part of a joint venture with Mr O’Loughlin and was “jointly liable” for the murder.
The two victims managed to escape from the house, but Mr Vysochan collapsed on the roadside nearby and died a short time later, the court heard.
A witness in the case, John Gleeson, gave evidence of driving past the Carrig Midhe estate with his wife and son and seeing two young men on a footpath, one of whom was “falling down on the other in a helpless manner”. He said by the time they got out of the car to help Mr Vysochan, he had fallen on the ground.
The witness said his wife was talking to the other teenager who “suddenly realised he had been stabbed himself”.
An off-duty garda who happened to be visiting friends in the Carrig Midhe estate on the night of the stabbing also gave evidence.
Garda William Tobin said he heard a commotion coming from one of the houses, and at the entrance to the estate he came upon two men, one of whom was sitting on the ground and said he had been stabbed. The witness said he lifted up the victim’s shirt and saw a wound and said the other man had a cut to his thigh.
He said the man on the ground was trying to talk to him but in a matter of minutes he found it difficult to breathe and lost consciousness.The trial, before Mr Justice Paul Carney, will be transferred from Limerick to Nenagh today to allow remote video evidence from a witness in the case.